Romanticize Your Life: The Power of Living in the Moment
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We are all being brought up in an age where technology makes it too easy to live vicariously through other people. Our social media feeds are flooded with friends’ artsy pictures of Rome from their study abroad semester, snapshots of cacio e pepe, the Colosseum, and fashion. Netflix has shows available at the touch of a screen, allowing us to binge-watch an entire series in just a few days. Influencers move to Hawaii, old high school friends start jobs in new cities, and movies make everything look romantic. It is easy to think to yourself, “I’d be so much happier if I was there, if that was my life”. But it is not. Your life is the one you are living right now, and you have to maximize every moment.
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Looking forward to the future is only natural, it’s healthy, even. Having a motivator to get you up and excited is a great way to keep moving toward a goal. The key is to not simply allow time to pass until the event you are looking forward to arrives. It is easy to slip into a habit of merely existing day to day and forget that the goal is to live. Living in the moment does not require any drastic changes to your routine, rather, it offers a slight shift in perspective.
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In the award-winning book Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, the author, Eckhart Toll, preaches that the best way to live in the moment is to become intensely cautious of the present moment. In other words, cue yourself into what you are currently experiencing. This can be done while performing even the most mundane of daily tasks. When washing your hands, pay attention to the feeling of the soap between your fingers and the strength of the water from the sink. Breathe slowly and cautiously. This will remind you that your body is functioning and keeping you alive in the here and now. Journaling or meditating at the end of the day can allow your brain to fixate on the moments you experienced. Eating slower, listening more carefully, and practicing gratitude will help focus your mind on the present moment.
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Once you feel that you are aware of your own actions and truly living in the moment, it is equally important to romanticize your life. Create little moments for yourself that feels bright and exciting. This can be anything, small or big. Buy yourself flowers. Go watch the sunrise before class. Create a morning routine that you look forward to. Bake cookies with your girlfriends. Read 10 pages of a book before going to sleep. Go to a yoga class. Take a weekend trip to a city you have never been to. Make an afternoon matcha. Light a candle. What you choose to do to romanticize your life is completely up to you. Choose little things that help you to appreciate each moment and stop going through the motions. You aren’t going to get this time in your life back, so make the most of it. If your dream life is to live in Hawaii like your favorite YouTuber, then make it happen, but don’t waste the time until you get there.
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Someday you will be looking back on this time of your life, and you will miss it. So, appreciate each moment for what it is. The nights spent with friends laughing on the floor of your apartment and the drives to the grocery store blasting music. Even pulling all-nighters to write papers or crying because you’re so stressed out. These are all moments that signify the place you're at in life right now. Take a deep breath, slow down, and enjoy.
Strike Out,
Writer: Sarah Gibson
Editor: Breanna Tang
Graphic Designer: Andrea Wolfe
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